Twelves Days ficlets, Harry Potter
by rumpelsnorcack
Summary: Series of 6 ficlets that alternate with the ones in Twelve Days ficlets, Doctor Who.  These ones will cover days 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12.  All based on the NZ book A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree.
1. Chapter 1

Ginny hummed as she worked. It was nearly Christmas and for the first time she was in charge of doing a dinner. She'd had to wrest control out of Molly's hands, but she had finally won the concession that she could do the lunch. She had a long list of requirements sitting on the bench in front of her; while she had rolled her eyes as Molly had generated the exhaustive group of holiday dos and don'ts, Ginny knew her cooking reputation was riding on this lunch and was determined to do it perfectly. The last item on the list always made her eyes narrow when she looked at it, however. In what universe was it okay to ban sweet potato?

The next day, Ginny smiled as she presided over her heavily-stocked dinner table. All was done to Molly's satisfaction, and hearing her mother's praise made Ginny's heart swell. She squeezed Harry's hand. He leaned over to her, under cover of her mother's rapturous exclamations, and whispered, 'Are you going to tell her about the one sweet potato you mixed into the rest of the mash?' he asked.

Grinning, Ginny shook her head. 'Why spoil the moment?' she whispered back.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry was cold. He was used to that – from his time in the cupboard under the stairs, to the draughty castle as wind whistled around unsecured doorways and window frames. This year may be colder than usual because he was outside so bloody much, but it's not like cold wasn't a fact of life. With icy fingers he pulled his blanket closer around his shoulders. Hermione was asleep in the tent behind him or else he'd ask her to make some of those little blue flames they used to use to keep them warm.

Thinking of warmth made him think of Ginny. She had never seemed as far away as she did now. It was Christmas, as near as he and Hermione could tell anyway. Maybe not the day itself, but certainly Christmas time, and he missed Ginny with a fierce ache.

They had spent some of their days together at Hogwarts imagining what they would do for Christmas this year. She had teased him about the maggots from last year, and he had pointedly reminded her of her awkwardness around him pretty much every year before that. He grinned as he thought about it, then shook his head. There was no use dwelling on the past when the present was all he had. But, just to be a little closer to Ginny during this time, Harry pulled out his map of Hogwarts. After a moment of fruitless searching, he remembered she would be at home. He threw the map down in disgust and leaned his head against the tree. As he did so he noticed a small movement in the Gryffindor Common room, labelled Ginny Weasley. Scrambling to pick up the map again, Harry stared at it. What was she doing there? It was Christmas; she should be with her parents ... or was it? Maybe he had the dates wrong.

It was late. The world should be asleep, but her dot was moving. He could see it roaming restlessly from one side of the room to the other. He traced its path with his finger, hoping she could feel it somehow and know he was thinking of her. They were both sharing this midnight vigil, even if she couldn't know he was with her in spirit. Feeling stronger than he had in a long time, Harry determined that tomorrow he would suggest going to Godric's Hollow again to Hermione.


	3. Chapter 3

Ginny watched the three of them in amusement. Not her three children who were running around the house screaming with glee, waving the strange balls on the ends of long plaited pieces of string. They were just kids being kids. She winced as they crashed into the Christmas tree, spilling the glowing fairies out in a hail of brightly coloured lights. Okay, they were destructive kids being destructive kids, but that wasn't as amusing as the threesome sitting near the fire watching the chaos.

Harry was keeping an eagle eye on his children, though with the amount of firewhiskey he'd consumed he wasn't up to doing much about their antics. Hermione, next to him, focused on Luna who was watching the children with an expression of loving joy. Ron had long since succumbed to the drink and was snoring softly on the couch on the other side of the room.

'They really don't ward off migwiffs,' Hermione explained patiently. 'Migwiffs don't even exist.'

Luna's gaze became sharp for one sudden second before she sank back into her usual misty dreaminess. 'They do exist. You still need to open your mind, Hermione. Rolf and I saw these very poi being used to ward them off very successfully during our travels.'

'They can't have been!' Hermione was determined to prove her point. 'No-one's even seen one, right? So how –'

'Migwiffs can't be seen because they are successfully warded off by these,' Luna explained, holding up a pair of the poi. 'That's why the children needed them. I could sense the migwiffs approaching here so made sure to bring these back with me when I came home.'

She looked at the children and began to fret. 'They really need to learn to use them correctly. Maybe I should apparate with them to the tribe where got the poi and have them taught there –'

Harry roused from his firewhiskey-induced stupor and said forcefully, 'no, Luna. That won't be necessary. I think they'll get the hang of it just fine on their own.'

'But the patterns to do the wards are very intricate,' Luna protested while Hermione snorted.

Just then the children rushed past again, swinging the poi wildly as they did so. The simple gift had been welcomed far more enthusiastically than the expensive books from Hermione and Ron or even the piles of WWW products from George. James was waving his above his head and screaming as he chased Albus who was aiming swings back at him as they raced past the adults and tipped up a tray with several glasses of mead on it. Thankfully Hermione noticed and waved her wand, cushioning the tray before it crashed to the ground and solidifying the contents of the glasses for a few seconds. Lily, who was prancing along in the rear dragging hers along the ground like a puppy on a lead, giggled as one of Albus's blows landed on James's head. She suddenly whipped hers off the floor and tripped James up as he tried to get one back on Albus. She squeaked and ran in the other direction as he turned his attention to her.

'I don't know about migwiffs,' Ginny said, smiling as she brought Harry another glass of firewhiskey. 'But they certainly seem to be doing a good job of warding off siblings.'

'That's not exactly their proper use,' Luna said thoughtfully as she watched the children depart. 'But it certainly looks like it might be a good additional use.' She turned to Ginny. 'But you should still get them lessons in those warding patterns. Just in case.'


	4. Chapter 4

Harry stared up at the canopy above him, arms cushioning his head. Sunlight was slitting through the forked leaves and on the whole he felt contented – a sensation that he realised he hadn't often felt before. There was always the knowledge of impending doom hanging over his head, especially since his fifth year at Hogwarts. Today, however, that was gone. It felt weird in a way.

Even after the war's ending he had kept himself busy, not willing to stand still even for a second. He had still felt like a coiled spring waiting for something else to strike. It was only now, several months after the war, that he had finally stopped pushing himself.

Beside him, Ginny shuffled onto her side, breaking into his reminiscences. Harry turned to look at her and smiled as he reached out to brush a strand of hair off her face.

'This is nice,' he said. 'Reminds me of the days back at Hogwarts, by the lake.' He looked up at the forked leaves again, watching them flutter above him.

'Good,' said Ginny. Her satisfaction was clear in her voice. 'That was the intention when I transfigured this room. Warming charms and this sort of transfiguration are much harder than I thought they'd be.'

The sudden change in conversation startled Harry and he squinted at her in puzzlement. Ginny had stopped talking and was looking at Harry with an expectant expression on her face. When he looked back at her blankly, Ginny sighed and scooted closer to him.

'Hermione and I had to do some intense research to make this happen – indoor to outdoor changes are really difficult, especially getting cold weather to mimic warmer temperatures.'

She began to draw circles on his chest; her fingers brushing lightly enough to make him shiver even in the warm breeze she had generated from somewhere. Ginny smirked at him.

'Want to relive those days again?' she asked, clearly giving up on the attempt at trying to steer his thoughts and going for bluntness. Without waiting for Harry to respond, Ginny suited action to words and kissed him. While a single bee buzzed lazily overhead, Harry lost himself in the moment. When they had broken apart and he found himself still lost in her eyes, he realised that his contentment had less to do with the sun and recreation of Hogwarts than it did with the company he was with.

Reaching to the side, Harry grabbed his wand and said, 'finite incantatem.' Ginny sat up, looking affronted as the world around them dissolved and they found themselves on a winter's day lying on the bed in Ginny's room at the Burrow. Snow fell outside. Harry left the warming charms in place, however; unwilling to go too far to make his point.

'I don't need Hogwarts to recreate those days, Ginny,' he said. 'I just need you. Thank you for the effort, but it isn't necessary.'

Smiling again, Ginny lay back down and curled herself into his side.


	5. Chapter 5

'Shhhh, Harry; you'll ruin it!' Ginny had some extendable ears pressed to her own ear. Behind her, Harry was trying not to snigger as he listened through a second pair. Soon they heard what they had been waiting for: a muffled shriek, a curse and the sound of two pairs of feet scattering away from the bed. Ginny's face was a mottled purple colour from trying to keep in her laughter. Harry couldn't quite keep his composure, letting out a loud snort which he quickly tried to cover up.

He wasn't fast enough. The sound of feet crossing the floor and a door opening made both of them pull the ears out and stuff them in their pockets. By the time Ginny's door had flown open, Harry had his hand on her waist and his lips on hers. She pulled away and looked up as if startled to see George in her doorway looking dishevelled and annoyed, with Angelina behind him.

'What do you want?' Ginny asked with as much mock outrage as she could muster. 'Can't you see we're busy here?'

'There are fish heads in my bed,' George said, eying them carefully for any signs of weakness. 'Slimy fish heads.' Harry looked as innocent as he could, but George's gaze was disconcertingly direct. He blushed a little. He sighed in relief as George moved his attention to Ginny as he said, 'they were enchanted – they sang to us when we touched them.'

'Maybe they're really happy to see you together.' Ginny finally let out her laughter.

George gave her one withering look, before grinning. 'I'll get you for this; Christmas is coming – lots of opportunity there,' he said.

'I look forward to it,' said Ginny. She hugged George to her. 'It'll be good to have your pranks back.'


End file.
